Monthly Archives: April 2011

I was having a conversation with a friend earlier this week about 420 (pronounced four twenty) when she asked if it was bad of her to attend on her lunch hour. My response was something along the line of “You can….but it is AT 4:20pm”. She knew that the 420 terminology had something to do with April 20th and Marijuana but not that it referred to the time of day, which led me to realize that I had no clue why we used the term 420.

So I started asking people around me if they knew why the term 420 was used when referencing Marijuana. Someone said it had something to do with Bob Marley, another said it was a cop code. Others thought that nobody really knew and I even had a comment about Hitler…When I proposed a story I heard years ago about High School kids meeting after school to smoke pot, I got called out on… And that’s when I decided to do some digging.

According to Steven Hager, Creative Director of High Times, the term 420 originated at San Rafael High School in the fall of 1971, where a group of pot-smoking teenagers called themselves the “Waldos”. The Waldos, who are now pushing 50, used the term to signify the time they would meet at (4:20pm) to go look for an abandoned cannabis crop they had heard of. Their meeting spot of choice was at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur.

Regardless of where the origin of the term 420 comes from, Marijuana remains an illegal substance here in Canada, and you should always be careful when consuming. Never smoke and drive. The same rules apply as Alcohol.

If you live in Ottawa and you’re interested in checking out what 420 is all about, go to the Parliament around 4:15pm. There will be cops, happy people and lots of smoke.

You can also cheat and attend the celebration virtually in the comfort of your own home by watching it all from the Parliament Live cameras! (which I suggest to do today as it’s raining like there’s no tomorrow!)